Juan Arango Millan Translation - Coat of Arms of the Arango. Crows on the right hand? Ravens to the sinister? By: Bernardo Mejia Arango

Coat of Arms of the Arango. Crows on the right hand? Ravens to the sinister?

By: Bernardo Mejía Arango
Special collaboration: Ariel Arango Hincapíe. Thanks to your tour of Asturias, for visiting the Pravia Council and for the oral information provided, and especially for sending me the book by Manuel Luis Ruiz de Bucesta y Alvarez: "Heraldic Route of Pravia". "Our hero asked his Majesty to authorize him and his descendants to paint the six crows as weapons on his shield as a souvenir of that battle. And the king granted him this honor" (D and Ely Ramírez, Parish Yearbook 1947-1948, and reproduced by the Manuel López de la Torre Cultural Association) http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escudo_de_Pravia


"The site was divided into many branches, which had their houses in the Arango Valley as well as outside of it. Some branches kept the old name of Cuervo and others used that of the site of Arango"  (Joseph Manuel Trelles Villademoros. Asturias Illustrated, Primitive Origin of the Nobility of Spain)

Image No. 1. The shield on the right (Looking straight ahead) corresponds to the one found on the tower or house of Arango, one of the most emblematic buildings of Asturias in Spain, specifically in the valley or plain of Arango. The shield on the left (Looking straight ahead) was painted by the visual artist Juan Felipe Ballén Briceño at the request of the undersigned and of course based on the Arango de la Casa or Torre de Arango shield. During this article mention will be made of the House or Tower of Arango and the coat of arms.

After a few months of reviewing the Arango shield with the aim of choosing one, the most appropriate according to the canons of heraldry, it came into my hands and donated to the one signed by the City Council and the Pravia Tourism Office , a copy of the book "Ruta Heáldica de Pravia", whose author is Manuel Luis Ruiz de Bucesta y Álvarez, a scholar of the subject, University Expert in Genealogy, Heraldry and Noble Law.

Don Manuel Luis mentions on page 19 of his book, that in the Pravia Council "These coats of arms were acquired by the holders according to tradition and custom, in four different ways:

a) By royal concession.
B) By inheritance.
C) By conquest or won in war.
d) By own adoption, although the latter have no such value until once they obtain either a royal sanction or a certification of a king of arms. "

So in the book Ruta Heraldica de Pravia, I found the justification that helps me to have an Arango shield, the one to the left of image No. 1.

This article contains five topics:

1. How the Cuervo surname originated and what is its association with the Arango surname.
2. Why was the image of the crow incorporated into the Arango family crest.
3. A review of the coat of arms of the Palace of the Moutas and one of the coat of arms of the House or Tower of Arango
4. A list of shields and the position of the crows: to the right, to the left, facing each other.
5. Symbolism in the Arango shield.

The Pravia coat of arms is described by Manuel López de la Torre, who was the town's official chronicler, as follows: “In a silver field six saber crows, passing to the right, three and three, placed on two poles . It is finished off by a royal crown, which symbolizes the Reconquest period during which Pravia was the court of the Asturian Monarchy (774-791) ”. 

It is also the same as the one painted by the Cuervo and the Cuervo Arango, as affirmed by Tirso de Avilés, a historian born in Bolgues, Las Regueras council, in the first half of the 16th century (approximately in 1516). He studied ecclesiastical studies and became canon of the Cathedral of Oviedo (1547) and judge of the Cathedral Chapter. He composed several works of heraldry, epigraphy, and history that are for the most part lost.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirso_de_Avil%C3%A9s_y_Hevia

This is the verse attributed to Tirso de Avilés: 

"In a shield I saw posts

six highly praised crows,

in white painted field,

and they say it was these

to Arango for weapons given.

The same weapons gave

from Pravia to these noble people;

its antiquity is patent,

and they were always very noble,

and in Asturias to the present ".

(The previous note is taken from the Blog "La Vuelta al día de los Arango", whose author is Jesús Arango Fernández) How did the crows get to be incorporated into the coat of arms of the Cuervo and / or the Arango? There are three parts or versions that in the end could be combined into one. I) The first part is related to Marco Valerio and how he acquired the "Corvo" in his surnames: Marco Valerio Corvo (In Latin Marcus Valerius Corvus





) (370 BC - 270 BC) one of the most illustrious men in the early history of the Republic (Rome). His initial name was Marco Valerio. It did not include the "Corvo", which was assigned to him as recounted later; Marco belonged to the Gens Valeria. The gens was a Roman, Italic or Etruscan family, made up of all those individuals who shared the same " nomen " and claimed descent from a common ancestor. It was an important social and legal structure in the history of ancient Rome.

Valerii (Los Valerios) had their residence on the Velia hill, in Rome, and enjoyed extraordinary privileges, among them being the only ones whose doors opened directly onto the street; in the circus there was a special seat reserved for them. They could also bury their dead within the city walls, a privilege reserved only for a few families. Being a member of the important Valeria house, he had his first opportunity to distinguish himself, as a consequence of serving in 349 BC as a military tribune in the army of the consul Lucio Furio Camilo in his campaign against the Gauls. It was in this war where he obtained the "nickname" of "Corvus" or "Raven", according to, like many other of the achievements of the first Roman heroes,



In one of the confrontations against the Gauls, a gigantic warrior challenged any of the Romans to combat. This challenge was accepted by Valerio after obtaining the consent of the consul, and at the beginning of the combat, a raven alighted on his helmet, and the times that Valerio attacked the Gaul, the raven launched itself on the face of the enemy, until the barbarian fell under Valerius's sword. A battle ensued, in which the Gauls were totally defeated. The consul gave Valerio ten oxen and a golden crown, and the grateful people elected him, consul for the following year, when he was only 23 years old. In this way he was consul in 348 BC (Vittorio Angius, Dizionario geografico, storico, statistico, Volume 5 page 468, G. Maspero, 1839) 

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corvini. From then on, those of his lineage used the raven as a symbol on their flags.

Don Gonzalo Argote de Molina (Seville, 1548-Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, October 20, 1956), was a Spanish military man, poet, historian, philologist, antiquarian, heraldist and genealogist, in his archaic Spanish he tells us the following: " In the history of the Romans, Tito Livio remembers in the decades of Marcus Aurelius Publicola, who fighting faith with French came a raven through the air, and faith pufo on the helmet of the Roman Knight, and from there he attacked with the beak and claws to the eyes of the French, and was caufa, Marco Valerio  alcançaffe  victory. Therefore it was called thenceforth Marco Valerio Corvo. and  ufarõ los de fu linage efta ave by symbol in fus vanderas " About the origin of the surname or cognome Corvino, Vittorio Angius tells us (Dizionario geografico storico, statistico. Volume 5, page 468, G. Maspero, 1839): illustre famiglia dei Corvini della stirpe nobilissima di Valerio Publicola; alla quale famiglia Corvina gives from the beginning a pronipote of the Publicola, che, as Tito Livio claims, fighting against a Rooster, was meravigliously aiutato da un corvo. Corvinus is a Cognomen (blood relationship between the descendants of a common trunk) of the Valeria gens, and is just a longer form of Corvus, the name of Marco Valerio. Their descendants appear to have invariably taken the form of Corvino. (




 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Valerio_M%C3%A1ximo_%28c%C3%B3nsul_289_a._C.%29 ) II) The second of them, appears in the Punic wars. It is known by the name of the Punic wars to the three armed conflicts that faced between 264 BC and 146 BC the two main powers of the Mediterranean at the time: Rome and Carthage. They get their name from the Latin ethnonym Punici used by the Romans to refer to the Carthaginians and their Phoenician ancestors. For their part, the Carthaginians called this conflict " Roman Wars ".



Don Joseph Manuel Trelles Villademoros (Illustrated Asturias. Primitive Origin of the Nobility of Spain. Its antiquity. Classes and Differences with the Successive Descent of the Principal Families of the Kingdom (Edition digitized by Google; origin of the original: Library of the Complutense University) In Pages 101 and 102, Volume I, say the following in relation to the Arango or Cuervo family:

Image No. 2. Shows part of pages 101 and 102 of the book by Don Manuel Trelles Villademoros: "Illustrated Aturias. Primitive Origin of the Nobility in Spain. Its Antiquity. Classes and Differences with the successive Descent of the families of the Kingdom". The text is written in archaic Spanish. Its transcript is contained in the next paragraph.

"They passed, then, to Italy, in favor of Aníbal these Asturians and Cantabrians, with their Duke Hero, finding themselves in the repeated battles, that Hannibal gave to the Romans, referring to the Consul the actions of the one that occurred next to the Tremesino river. (......). On this occasion a Raven flew over the Roman army, giving sad squawks; and having a Roman Soldier interpreted the Consul Flaminio, General of the Arms of Rome, the unfortunate event, which predicted that sad omen , He won for his family the surname Corvino, and from him the History of Asturias says that the Cuervo, Arango and Prendes families descend. Hannibal recently prostrated the entire Roman army in the famous Battle of Cannas in the year 214 BC "

The Battle of Cannas (O Cannae), in Apulia in southeastern Italy, took place on August 2, 214 BC, between the Punic army, commanded by Hannibal Barca, and the Roman troops, led by the consuls Gaius Terence Varro and Lucio Emilio Paulo, in the framework of the Second Punic War. The Battle ended with the victory of the Carthaginian army.

III) The third is recounted very well by Jesús Arango Fernández in his blog "La Vuelta al Día de los Arango". He cites the following text, by Ely Ramírez, Parish Yearbook 1947-1948, and reproduced by the Manuel López de la Torre Cultural Association:

http://jesusarango.blogspot.com/2007/12/historia-de-los-arango.html

"This is a legend that lives in the memory of the Pravians since remote time: the story of the six crows, which Pravia and the neighboring municipalities of Cudillero, Muros de Nalón and Soto del Barco, proudly wear on their municipal coat of arms.

Several centuries ago, in those times when Spain was dominated by the Saracens, when the first cries of independence sounded in the rugged mountains of Asturias, a valiant Pravian champion, who was fighting against the infidel invader, noticed the presence of a large group of Arabs. He doubted whether or not to enter combat. The enemy was far superior in number and they were very well equipped with weapons. A river, probably the Nalón, separated the two groups. While the brave Pravian captain was in these doubts, he suddenly saw six crows in the sky fluttering and squawking in such a way that it seemed they wanted to send him a message. The brave Pravian saw in those crows a sign of ill omen for the enemy and, addressing the birds that were already flying over the river, he said:

"Birds of little value,

that you feel sorry for hunger

come in my company

Well, of other people's meat or mine

I will give you a full belly "(others say: full hands)

Our brave captain, accompanied by his warriors, threw himself on the Saracens, inflicting a great defeat on them, in such a way that few managed to flee, leaving the battlefield full of corpses. After this battle, the captain told his brave soldiers:

"I always saw with great fury

(I don't remember by heart)

many birds against the raven

follow him with great boldness

for not being his color;

and he follows them with vigor

With your sharp and strong beak, follow them to death,

wounding them in such a way

which of them is the winner "

The king, aware of this feat, encouraged the brave soldier to indicate what award he wanted for such a wonderful deed. Our hero asked his Majesty to authorize him and his descendants to paint the six crows as weapons on his shield as a souvenir of that battle. And the king granted him this honor. And since our character was from Valle de Arango, that's where the name Cuervo de Arango comes from.   http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escudo_de_Pravia

Image No. 3. Shield found in the church of San Pedro de Cornazo in Villa García de Arosa, Pontevedra, in the Autonomous Community of Galicia. Curiously, although he is not in Asturias, he has engraved the verse of the crows by means of which the Pravian captain invokes them to help him.

There is a chivalric novel entitled "Tirante el Blanco" in which the warlike deeds of Tirante are narrated, who upon being appointed captain general of the Constantinople army had a flag made on which a crow was painted with a Latin sign that said: " Avis piss, dry me, quare gives meat vel aliena satiated you".  The motto written on this flag is practically the same as the verses of the Pravian captain where he invites them to fight and as a reward he will satisfy them with his own flesh or that of the enemy.

Reviewing the subject, I found that Jose R. Arango makes the appointment on the blog "Las Arango de Vilaforman" by Tirante El Blanco and refers to Carlos López-Fanjul de Argüelles who in a book called "Aguilas, lises y Palmerines" says that in the The 16th century tried to give the armories a transcendent meaning due to the success of the novel "Tirante El Blanco".

The author of Tirante El Blanco is the Valencian writer Joanot Martorell, the novel was published in Valencia in 1490: that is, when the novel was published, the process of reconquering Spain had already concluded, a process in which the Catholic kingdoms sought the control of Spain held by Muslim rule. This period lasted from the year 722 to 1492. This reconquest had an "Asturian focus" that developed during the life of Don Pelayo Curvo, specifically in the spring-summer of the year 722. That is, the legend or motto of Tirante El Blanco for being originated in a time long after the Asturian focus of the Spanish reconquest, it must have been inspired by the history of the Pravian paladin and the crows that accompanied him in the episode.

Based on all the above and on what the Armorial Internacional says, Arango is recognized as follows: ancient and noble Roman family derived from Valerio Corvino, Roman Consul, which settled in the north of Spain (Asturias) and was recognized since always as of the highest nobility.

What is mentioned in the International Armorial is supported by the following facts:

On pages 101 and 102 of the book by Don Joseph Manuel Trelles Villademoros "Primitive Illustrated Asturias Origin of Nobility in Spain its Antiquity Classes and Differences with the Successive Descent of the Principal Families of the Kingdom (Digitized Edition) we find the following in relation to the Arango or Cuervo family:

The Arango belong to the nobility because history shows us that they had as their predecessors:

To a noble Roman family, the Valerios. Among its highest representatives there are several emperors, among them:

1. "Claudio", called Valerio Aurelio Claudio Augusto (Claudio), emperor from 268 to 270
2. Valerius Diocleziano Augustus (Diocleziano) 284 - 305
3. Aurelius Valerius Maximian Augustus (Maximiano), Emperor 286 - 305
4. Galerius Valerius Maximinus Imp Caesar Augustus (Maximinus), emperor 308-313
5. Flavio Valerio Constantino (272 -337), known in history as Costantino I "Il Magnus" (The Great). He legalized the Christian religion in the Roman Empire through the Edict of Milan in 313.

Also in the ancestors of the Arango in the Spanish Nobility we find the following:

1. Fernando Juanes, Duke of La Limia, father of Don Pelayo Cuervo, recognized as a great lord of Valle de Arango and Ricohombre by King Alfonso VII
2. Marquesado de Ferrera, which is a Spanish noble title with Greatness of Spain, established by the mercy of King Carlos II on February 22, 1700 in favor of Juan Alonso de Navia y Arango
3. To the Marquis of Gratitude, title created by Isabel II, Queen of Spain, by decree of 5/20/1834 in favor of Francisco Arango y Parreño, I Marquis of Gratitude, born in 1765.
4. Count of Selgas, lord of the Cogollo fortress in Arango.
5. Pedro José Calvo de la Puerta y Arango, 1st Count of Buena Vista.
6. To the Count of Duquesne Pedro Calaudio Duquesne y Arango, who died as a hero of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870
7. Doña María Antonia de la Concepción Arango, Viscondesa del Puerto.
8. Doña María Manuela de Navia y Arango, Viscondesa de La Herrería.

All this is documented in Royal Letters, historical books and even in the Cathedral of Oviedo, according to Don Joseph Trelles, ancient documents are kept that give an account of this reality. Don José Trelles Villademoros (Talarén, Asturias, 16855. Madrid, Spain, 1765). He wrote two works: 

1) "Illustrated Asturias: primitive origin of the nobility of Spain, their antiquity, classes and differences, with the successive descent of the main families of the Kingdom" (Three volumes, published in Madrid between 1736 and 1739

2) "Chronological history and genealogy of the primitive origin of the nobility in Spain, their antiquity, classes and differences, with continued successions of the main families of the Kingdom, and with the illustration of the Principality of Asturias". Publication of 8 volumes, Madrid, 1760.
http://www.armorial-international.com/ES/Comments-1613965-ARANGO.awp

The Arango de Pravia had their origin in the Roman Corvinos. The following are documentations in this regard:

• Father Luis Alfonso Carvallo (He was born in Entrambasaguas, Cangas de Narcea, Asturias, in 1571; he died in Villagarcía de Campos, Valladolid, on February 2, 1635; he was a historian and religious) in his book "Antiquities and memorable things of the principality de Asturias "makes the following considerations about the origin of the nobility of Asturias (I must clarify that this part I have taken from the blog of José R, Arango" Los Arango de Vilaforman "; José says that the book is digitized by Google and that the provenance of the original is from the Bavarian State Library http://arangovilaforman.blogspot.com/p/los-arango-de-pravia.html):

"The Romans (...) by way of marriage joined the Asturians, to better enjoy their properties, and to maintain the province in the loyalty of their empire, (...) and there is no doubt that most of the nobility of this province has descended from this mixture; because Plinio says in chapter 3, book 2, that in the towns of Asturias there were two hundred and four heads of noblemen; later his generous blood was further refined with the mixture of the Godos; (...) in our province we find some traces of some noble Roman families; (...) The Cuervo de Pravia, it is well known that they come from the Corvinos or the Cuervo "

• José Manuel Trelles Villademoros (born in Talarén, Asturias, in 1685; died in Madrid in 1765; he was an Asturian historian and genealogist). He wrote two works:

          - Illustrated Asturias: primitive origin of the nobility of Spain, their antiquity, classes and
            differences, with the successive descendants of the main families of the Kingdom. 3 volumes
            published in Madrid between 1736 and 1739
          - Chronological and genealogical history of the primitive origin of the nobility of Spain, their
            antiquity, classes and differences, with continuous successions of the main families of the
            Kingdom, and with the illustration of the Principality of Asturias. 8 volumes, Madrid, 1760.

"Pelayo Cuervo was a brave soldier, and as such the Emperor rewarded him, and it is confirmed (As Sandoval says) in the royal letters of his time, and the same Author refers to three of them from the Era of 1183. and from the of 1174. and of 1203. And those of this surname Cuervo, have always been and are Asturians, natives of the Villa de Pravia, and paint five crows for Arms; Sandoval says papers were found where it was stated how this family came from the Goths : I understand that this renown is that of the Corbinos family, of which Heron was Emperor, as Suetonius says (: Ex genere Domitiae duae familiae claruerunt, Corbinorum, & amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; Enobaruorum (...) from the Cuervos de Pravia it is very true that the Casas de prendes, Arango, and some others that paint the same weapons descend "

(Gayo Suetonio Tranquilo, commonly known as Suetonio, was a writer, historian, biographer and secretary in ancient Rome, born in 70 AD and died in 126, during the reigns of the emperors Trajan and Hadrian).

• Don Juan de Banzes y Valdés (Antonio Juan de Bances y Valdés, was born in Riberas, Soto del Barco Council, Asturias in 1734 and died in Peñaullán, Pravia Council, Asturias; historian and Judge) in "Historical News of the Pravia Council "(Bulletin of the Royal Academy of History, volume LIX; Notebooks I-II, July-August 1911) says:

"Quite a few stories told me in Arango, in the year 1801, of Sancho el Zurdo, Lord of Villavaler and of the Great Count of Selgas, Lord of the Fortress of Cogollo in Arango. It cannot be denied without the recklessness that the house of Arango was very Lady in the Valley. At the top of Villavaler we saw walls of an ancient house or palace of great significance; and that's right, that place is called Palación "

It is important to check in which one or which of the houses of Asturias the Arangos resided and in which they left shields or heraldic stones where the crows appear; of course there are many and in many of them they left shields, in others not.

The Palación does not exist and it is presumed that it was the first house of the Cuervo de Arango. Other houses were considered as possibly the first of the Cuervo de Arango: that of the Tower (Perhaps they refer to the Tower of Arango), that of Puente Vega, that of Cogollo.

ECUDOS OF THE ARANGO OF ASTURIAS

Don Ciriaco Miguel Vigil, in Asturian heraldry and Armorial catalog of Spain, 1892, describes in relation to the surname Arango: Silver shield and six saber crows, passing, placed, 2,2 and 2; whose weapons are painted by those with the surname Cuervo.

On page 59 of volume I of the General Armorial of Johannes Babtist Riestap is the description of the Arango shield: “D'arg. À six corbeaux de sa., 2,2 et 2 ”. Johannes Babtist Rietstap was a Dutch heraldist and genealogist, best known for his publication "Armorial General"; This monumental publication contains the coats of arms and coats of arms of more than 130,000 European families. It is today one of the most complete works of its kind.

Image No. 4. Copy of part of page 59 of volume I of the book by JB Riestap "Dictionaire del Termes du Blason" in which the composition of the Arango shield is described.

https://books.google.com.co/books ?. ietstapid = KGwv4BDnlaQC & amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; printsec = frontcover & amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; dq = inauthor:% 22Johannes + Baptist + Rietstap% 22 & amp; amp ; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; hl = es & amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; sa = X & amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; ei = E1KUVbDDN8js-QG1h5Ng & amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; ved = 0CCUQ6AEwAQ # v = onepage & amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; q & amp; amp; amp; amp ; amp; amp; amp; f = false

According to what José R. Arango states in his blog “Arango. Genealogical and historical notes of the Arango. Genealogy of the Arango de Vilaforman and Doña Maria Mastache Acebo ”, in all the Spanish armoriales the coat of arms of the Arango family coincides with the one described on page 59 of Volume I of the General Armorial of JB Riestap: Arango-  Asturies. D'arg. à six corbeaux de sa., 2, 2, et 2.

The image of the following shield can be found on the front page of José R. Arango's blog, which is perhaps the most complete in terms of research on the surname Arango, its origins, coats of arms and shields. The blog can be accessed through the following link:

http://arangovilaforman.blogspot.com/p/enlaces-con-otros-blogs-relatados.html

Image No. 4. Coat of arms found on the introductory page of José R, Arango's blog "Arango. Genealogical and historical notes of the Arango. Genealogy of the Arango de Vilaformán and Doña María Mastache Acebo"

There are many versions of the Arango coat of arms, but all of them include the crows arranged in the silver field as furniture or figures:

• Silver, six saber ravens, two sticks of three, through to the right
• Others bring:  Of silver, and six saber crows, with folded wings,  in two sticks of three, passing to the sinister.
• Others bring:  Of silver, and six saber ravens, with folded wings,   faced in two sticks of three.
• Others bring:  Six sable crows of silver, with folded wings,  in three poles of two, passing to the sinister.

SHIELD OF THE HOUSE OR TOWER OF ARANGO

The Casa or Torre de Arango is the only medieval building that remains standing in Pravia and is the oldest building in the Council. The property is located near the Aranguin river, between Arborio and Quintana.

It is made up of palatial rooms, a tower and a chapel. According to most of the information that one can access on the internet and on physical media, the building dates from the 14th century, which in some references refers only to the tower; In the book "Ivy, history and stone" by Ruben Figueredo (whose copy I personally consulted in the Anton de la Braña library in 2016 in Pravia) he says that the tower is the primitive nucleus of the construction and dates from the 14th century and that the rest of the palace was erected in the seventeenth century. Other references cite that "It is a building from the 17th and 18th centuries, although there are indications that it existed in earlier times." It is located in Arborio, near Puentevega. It is a U-shaped construction; the palace consists of three floors and its main facade points to the south where there is a garden. It has a five-story tower that probably dates back to the 14th century.

http: // asturiaspordescubrir. com / articles / torre-de-arango- in-pravia-asturias /

http://web.archive.org/web/20100405025657/http://pravia.es/areasmunicipales/cultura/patrimonio/phistoricoartistico.htm

According to what Jesús Arango Fernández mentions in his blog "La Vuelta al Día de los Arango", a character named Suero Vistario, was the owner of the Valley or Vega de Arango and lived there for the year 1126; this is the first historical reference of the Arango valley

 http://jesusarango.blogspot.com/2008/04/suero-vistario.html Manuel Luis Ruiz de Bucesta y Alvarez refers to this Serum Vistario on page 121 of his book "Heraldic Route in the Council of Pravia", as Suero Vitrario and not Vistario, as Jesús Arango calls it on his blog.

The one who perhaps first has a reference in relation to the house or tower of Arango is Don Pelayo Curvo (His successors later called themselves Cuervo). In 1145 Don Pelayo was Lord of the Arango Valley and had his lot in Arango. Some locate the site of Arango based in the Casa or Torre de Arango, a building that still exists although it has had reconstructions and extensions.

Image No.5. Apart from the page of the book by Joseph Manuel Trelles Villademoros (Cover on the left side). Aspects related to Don Pelayo Cuervo and the origin of the Cuervo surname are narrated.

In 1444 Don Gonzalo Cuervo de Arango was Lord of the House and Tower of Arango. There is an article on the internet that says that the Casa or Torre de Arango is linked to the surname Cuervo de Arango since 1444 ( http://www.lne.es/centro/2013/12/04/torre-arango-le-salen- novios / 1509721.html ) , which is in doubt since there is the possibility that Don Pelayo Curvo had his solar house with a seat in the house or Torre de Arango

At the beginning of the 16th century, the knight Don Fernán Cuervo de Arango was Lord of the House and Tower of Arango. Of the same were the houses that had the weapons of the Cuervo in the wall of the Villa de Pravia next to the Villa del Cai (It is related to one of the three gates that ancient Pravia had, which was a walled city: that of Cai , Salas and Villa). Don Fernán founded a link with his properties in 1535 and was lord of the best of the Arango Valley from Peña Gallinera to Cruz de Sandamias and La Bragada, passing by the Aranguin River.

In 1695, Don Juan Alonso de Navia y Arango, who later became the Marquis of Ferrera, was the lord of the House and Tower of Arango. The Marquis of Ferrera is a Spanish noble title with the Greatness of Spain established by King Carlos II on February 22, 1799 in favor of Juan Alonso de Navia y Arango, second lieutenant of Luarca, perpetual ruler of Avilés, Oviedo and knight of the royal Order of Santiago.

At the end of the 18th century there were already many owners in the Arango Valley. The site was divided into many branches, which had their houses in the Arango Valley as well as outside of it. Some branches kept the old name of Cuervo and others used that of the solar de Arango

Image No. 6. Parts of the book by Don Joseph Manuel Trelles Villademoros "Illustrated Asturias, primitive origin of the nobility of Spain, its antiquity, classes and differences with the successive descendants of the main families of the Kingdom"

In the House or Tower of Arango there are actually two shields:

First shield: it is painted on the north wall of the tower wall, on the access stairway to the house. On a silver field, six saber ravens, with folded wings, in two poles of three, passing to the sinister. The whole on a parchment with rodeles and vegetal motifs.

Image No. 7. Coat of arms of the house or Torre de Arango, painted on the wall of the stairs that lead to the upper floor.

It is striking that the helmet is facing the front and that it also has the closed helmet headpiece, with 10 grids. Unlike most Spanish shields, the crest ends in a point and that unlike many of the Arango shields, the crows look at the sinister.

A 9-mesh helmet corresponds to "non-sovereign princes and dukes, constables, admirals, generals of the army, governors of provinces and chancellors and other great lords who hold high positions. They must bring the front visor and the border in silver. nailed with gold, lined in red, placed in front with nine bars or grids, which is the only odd number, and surmounted from the crown, which is particular to each of these titles ..... "

The Helm of Kings and Emperors faces straight ahead and can have up to 11 grids. It can be thought that the helmet of this first shield of the Torre de Arango represents a great lord or governor or a tenente (Don Pelayo Curvo?)

The second coat of arms of the house or Torre de Arango is located over a small fireplace in the main living room; It is oval, contains five ravens on two sticks, one of two and the other of three. Actually they are two suits of three, since a third raven can be seen in the suit of two, partially painted

SHIELD OF THE PALACE OF THE MOUTAS IN PRAVIA

In the 18th century, great changes took place in the structure of the Villa de Pravia and it is from there that Pravia acquires its current and unmistakable appearance. Don Fernando Ignacio Arango Queipo, bishop of Tuy and a native of Pravia, ordered the construction of "A palace for God and another for his family". On June 1, 1715, the then Abbot of the Royal Convent of San Isidoro de León, before a notary, granted the founding deed of the Collegiate Church, the houses of the canons; next to the Collegiate Church Don Fernando Ignacio builds a palace for his family, which is known as the new house. http://www.ayto-pravia.es/historia 

http://jesusarango.blogspot.com/2007/12/el-concejo-de-pravia.html

Image No. 8 Shields of the Moutas Palace: the one on the left is carved in stone in the front of the palace above the lintel of the second floor door, which is above the main entrance. The one on the right is painted on the ceiling of the stairs that lead to the upper floor. Observe in the first barracks the crows of Arango looking at the sinister.

The coat of arms of the Palace of the Moutas represents or contains the four shields: Arango, Queipo, Inclán and Miranda; it is described as follows: quartered, 1st Arango, made of silver and six saber crows in two suits of three sinister passages; 2nd, Queipo, in gold, three stripes of gules, the middle one loaded with three gold lily flowers, and for the border, bouquets with pine cones of clusters of their color; 3rd, Inclán, party, 1st  barracks, in silver a maiden castle with three towers, a maiden leaned from the middle of the length with a raised sword in her right hand, and a dog with an attitude of barking in front of the door, 2 Th quartered, in gold, a ship surmounted in waves of the sea, and an escachante pine with fruits, terraced, and three lily flowers of gules, one in chief and two flanking the foot of the tree; and 4th, Miranda, in gules five maiden busts the natural one placed in sotuer, the hands having the scallop or gold shell fixed on the chest; edged with two sinople serpents, the necks knotted at the head and the tails at the tip   https://www.flickr.com/photos/albtotxo/4834873507

SHIELD OF THE HOUSE OF TINO DEL VALLE, PRAVIA

It is an 18th century house with a ground floor and a floor. It seems that the shield was transferred by Tino del Valle from Los del Valle's house in Puentevega in the last century.

Image No. 9. Coat of Arms of the House of Tino in Pravía. 1 barracks: the crows of Arango looking at the sinister.

Split and cut, 1st, 1 quartered, Cuervo-Arango, silver, and six saber crows in two poles of three sinister internals, 2 quartered, Selgas, silver and five azur escusons, in sotuer, loaded each one of them with five silver squares, in sotuer, and two spurs on both sides; 3rd, unknown.

FERRERA PALACE SHIELD

Image No. 10. Shield of the Placio de Ferrera: silver, and six saber ravens, with folded wings, passing to the sinister, in two suits of three.

The Ferrera Palace is located in the vicinity of the town hall of Avilés, in Asturias. This Baroque palace dates from the mid-17th century and was built by order of the Marquis following the plans of the municipal architect Bartolomé Velasco with the purpose of moving the headquarters of the marquisate to the new palace from Luarca.

It is one of the oldest baroque-style buildings in the province, it is a clear example of what is known as the baroque expansion towards the outskirts of the medieval wall; Its construction began in 1648 and ended in 1652; since its construction it served as the residence of the marquis and his close relatives. Today and since 2003 it has been converted into a hotel.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palacio_de_Ferrera

The following is a summary of the shields of Asturias, which have the crows incorporated and in what sense they are oriented:

Oriented to the right, the crows on the following shields:

Image No. 11. Crows looking to the right.

1. Pravia Town Hall
2. One of the shields of the Palace of Valdés-Bazan (also known as the Cuervo-Arango, or the Counts of Reparaz), in San Román de Candamo, Asturias.
3. Cuervo House in Malleza.
4. De Cudillero (Council and parish of the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias)
5. Shield of Muros de Nalón
6. Pravia surname
7. Soto del Barco, Asturian council.
8. Casa Longoria (Formerly Casa Valdés), Pravia.
9. One of the shields of the Casa de los Salas Cienfuegos, Pravia.
10. The Palace, in Escoredo (Parish of the Council of Pravia)
11. Church of San Esteban de Inclán (Parish of the Council of Pravia). In three shields the crows appear looking to the right.
12. Arango House in Peñaullan
13. Two of the shields of the Chapel of San Juan Bautista in Pravia.
14. Palace of the Franks in Quinzanas (Parish of the Council of Pravia)
15. Chapel of San Juan Buatista in Quintana (It has three shields, in two the crows look to the right hand, in the other to the left)
16. Palación, in Villavaler
17. Coat of arms of Prendes, coat of arms in the south transept of the Oviedo cathedral

Oriented to the sinister, crows in the following shields (Generally in sharing with shields of other lineages in the same crest):

Image No. 12. Crows looking at the sinister.

1. Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor, Pravia, neoclassical building from the 18th century. On the main altar there is a shield that corresponds to the Arango Queipo (Fernando Ignacio de Arango y Queipo). Manuel Luis Ruiz de Bucesta y Alvarez reports a shield in a walnut carving in which the crows are also altered when looking at the sinistra.
2. Palace of Arango known as Palace of the Moutas, in Pravia. It has two equal shields in terms of the fields, one on the pediment of the building, carved in stone, and another on the roof of the staircase that leads to the second floor.
3. House of the Marchioness of Casa valdés
4. Tino del Valle's house in Pravia
5. Chapel of San Roque (Chapel of the Miranda house) in Agones, Asturias. (Agones is a singular population entity, with the historical category of place, belonging to the Council of Pravia)
6. House or Tower of Arango or Palace of the Arango, in San Martín de Arango. First shield: painted on one of the walls of the tower, on the stairs that lead to the upper floors. The second shield, located over a fireplace in the main hall, also painted.
7. Inclán Palace, in Inclán.
8. Casa de Arango on the road to Peñaullán
9. Cuervo Arango's house in Puentevega
10. Chapel of San Juan Buatista in Quintana. It has three shields, in one of them the crows look to the left, in the other two to the right.
11. Omaña Palace, in Salas

Confronted, we find crows on the following shields:

Image No. 13. Crows facing each other.

1. Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor, a building already mentioned for having a shield with crows to the sinister. In the organ of the church there is a shield with the crows facing each other. This is reported by Manuel Luis Ruiz de Bucesta y Alvarez in his book "Heraldic Route in the Council of Pravia". 
2. One of the shields of the Casa de los Salas Cienfuegos, Pravia.
3. Palacio de los Cuervo-Arango near San Román de Candamo
4. Quintanal de Bayo House, in Grado, Asturias.
5. Church of San Pedro Cornazo in Villagarcía de Arousa in Pontevedra; included here because in it is the inscription relating to a battle in which a pravian captain invokes the help of the crows, in the fight of Spain against the Saracens.

MEANING OR SYMBOLOGY OF THE ELEMENTS CONTAINED IN THE ARANGO SHIELD

Silver: heraldic means purity, integrity, obedience, firmness, vigilance, eloquence and action to win. Those who use silver on their shields are obliged to protect the orphans and defend the maidens.

Crows: means the bold and courageous spirit to take risks in defense of its benefactors.

Sable: the color black means modesty, prudence, obedience, rigor, sadness, honesty. Those who wear it on their shields are obliged to serve their sovereign militarily and politically.

Two: it means the union of two contrary principles, such as the body and the soul. It is the sign of identity of the Albigenses, heretics whose principle is based on a Manichaean dualism: opposition between good and evil. For this reason, its use in heraldry could be interpreted as an apology for heresy. To avoid this, when an animal figure is used twice on a shield, it is possible to merge both figures into one if they are facing each other; This happens in most of the European armories, but in the Spanish armory the animals are used as interns (In the case of mammals) or looking (In the case of birds) in the same direction in such a way that the upper figure ( Montante) dominates the lower one (Escachante). This is only partially true because as it was seen, in the Spanish shields,

Six: represents the days of creation. In relation to the six, this fits the Arango shield as follows: in the first three days the light, the sky and the earth were created (First suit of the shield): three crows; in the second three days the stars, living beings and man (second suit of the shield) were created: three crows. A representation of creation is two columns (Sticks) of three elements (Ravens) in each one.